Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Another late Tuesday Post

Sorry for the delay, everyone, work has been a bear lately. So, I'm going to make this as quick as I can.

International news: The parliamentary elections in Iraq are going well. There's been election violence there, but I think the ordinary Iraqis have had it with car bombings. Once they have a government of their own, I think there's going to be even less tolerance for suicide bombers. Hopefully the locals there will help Iraqi and US troops root out those who would attempt to sway the election through violence. All I can do from here is lend moral support and give my best wishes to those who are creating a new country democratically.

National news: Stanley "Tookie" Williams was executed after exhausting all of his appeals. The guy murdered four people and founded the Crips, and there was enough evidence to both convict Williams and warrant the death penalty. His death should be a reminder to criminals. All that temporal power and all that apologizing after the fact or blaming society for your actions doesn't save you from paying for your crimes. It's sad that Hollywood's B-list came out to support this guy's plea for clemency. Of course, so did International ANSWER, a World Workers' Party and Communist-founded agitation group. I think the protest wasn't so much to protest the death penalty or even Williams' death sentence, but more to use this incident as a backdrop to hurl more invective at the Bush administration. I'm pretty neutral on the death penalty, in that I want to make VERY sure the person being executed is guilty of murder. According to some of the prison guards at San Quentin, Williams' claims of redemption rang hollow when compared to the threats he and his gang members made against the lives of the guards and their families. I got this from the Fox News reporter Sean Hannity interviewed on his radio show last night, so take it with a grain of salt if you so wish. Either way, Stanley Williams is receiving his final judgment.

State news: The fellowship mess at SIU is very interesting. I received copies of DOJ and SIUC correspondence about this and I'm checking 'em out once I get the chance. SIUC is going to use the recent University of Michigan admissions case as precedent, but that deals with preferential race-based admissions, not preferential race-based governement-funded financial aid. Hopefully the rules get changed to provide true equity.

Local news: Last week, the Chicago area got slowed down by snow, and this week the street departments are ready for it. Okay, that's me being optimistic. I think the snowplows will have to deal with snarled traffic just as much as commuters. The freak accident at Midway Airport makes me wonder if that third airport might not be so bad of an idea. And will changing the layouts of buildings and utility lines make it easier for pilots to land there? According to a report relayed on WLS this morning, the buildup of light poles and utility lines makes 700 feet of the main runway unusable due to the pilots needing to dodge the lines. If this is the case, the City of Chicago needs to do what's right and change those light and utlity line configurations.

Sports news: Indianapolis is 13-0. Three more games and hopefully Indy will meet Miami's perfect season record. I hope they can keep this tempo through the playoffs as well. Colts fans have been through a lot of bad years since 1984, and now it's time to get a little something back from the team for our support.

Computer gaming news: City of Heroes is doing its Christmas event, and I logged in to find all of my heroes had been given a flight pack to use through the holidays. It's VERY fun. And some polayers have sworn they've seen a jolly guy in red riding through the air in a sleigh. Could it be Santa, or could it be a devious trap by Paragon City's most heinous villains? You'll have to play to find out, or at least I will.

I also wish to note that Civilization 4, the latest Sid Meier game of empire-building, is VERY addictive. Building your cities and making them grow the way you want is just as much fun as minimalizing and conquering your misguided neighbors. It's very graphics-intensive, though, and on my old computer it's very slow and likely to crash. I guess it's time to upgrade the processor, motherboard and video card after all. Currently my Germans have held the Romans and Greeks to a combined total of four cities in Europe. The Romans have three and the Greeks have one. Mind you, I've kept them like this since about 1800BC. My current turn as of last night was 1933AD where I'm having to deal with the Chinese, Japanese, and Egyptians trying to muscle in on my claim to the entire New World. One way or another, their cities in North and South America will join the Germans. The Romans have three cities and those cities are losing the culture war to things like German cinema, musicals and rock music. The Greeks have Athens in a similar manner as well as a few weak cities in western Africa. Egypt and Persia have a mild border war going on, and India is trying to goad the Persians into a "Let's you and him fight" with the Mongols.

In a way, it's very similar to the real world.

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully the regular Tuesday Post will stay a Tuesday Post and not shift to Wednesday. Take care, everyone!